PP STRATEGY HARDENS: It’s hard to find a Republican willing to tamp down on the fervor for a harder tack on Planned Parenthood, namely jamming a defunding rider into a funding bill at the end of September. No final decisions have been made, but Republican leaders haven’t ruled it out and more centrist types like Sens. Orrin Hatch and John McCain are now tentatively backing the strategy. “It could invite a fight, but I think most Americans do not believe that their tax dollars should be used to fund the kind of grotesque procedures we’ve seen authenticated,” said McCain, who is trying to box out any primary challenge. “I would vote for a spending bill that defunded it, and that’s the way it’s going to be … it’s pretty obvious.” Other Republican senators that hate CRs said in interviews that a CR without funding for Planned Parenthood would be a sweeter deal than a clean one.

Story Continued Below

Dems draw line -- But if Republicans do go down this road, Democrats are laying down a hard marker: The government will shut down. “Schumer said there’s little risk for Democrats to vote against a rider-laden funding bill this fall, even though Democrats would be in the position of voting against funding the federal government. ‘It’s going to be just like the shutdown over ACA. It’s clear that Republicans are saying shut down the government unless I get my way on an extraneous issue. And the American people are wise to that,’ Schumer said. ‘It’s all on their shoulders.’ … Avoiding further shutdowns is a guiding principle of McConnell’s governance strategy, and with 24 Senate seats to defend next year, leadership and its allies are wary of overreaching and playing into the Democrats’ long-running ‘war on women’ narrative. ‘People are going to try to weave this as a war on women. Nothing could be further from the truth,’ said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).” I teamed up with Jen Haberkorn for this joint: http://goo.gl/giO1q3

REAL TALK AS USUAL: We were looking for Sen. Lindsey Graham to dismiss this strategy yesterday and couldn’t find him. But he found NewsMax TV. “I don't want to tell people on your show that we have the votes to defund Planned Parenthood because you'd have to override the presidential veto. Do you think Obama would veto a bill that would defund Planned Parenthood?" http://goo.gl/bECpC3

CHAK- AND -AH: Indicted Rep. Chaka Fattah will no longer chair the board of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Roll Call’s Hannah Hess reports. “The Pennsylvania Democrat’s exit from the prominent spot with the education and policy nonprofit closely linked to the Congressional Black Caucus on Capitol Hill comes less than 24 hours after Fattah was charged in a 29-count indictment … The CBC Foundation hosts its annual legislative conference in September. The process for replacing Fattah was not immediately clear.” http://goo.gl/yCx6FH

W.H. VAN BALLIN’ ON IRAN: Finally, a little run of good news on the House side for the administration. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who is running for the Maryland Senate seat, says he will back the agreement with Iran, matching the position of Rep. Donna Edwards and giving the president a boost in one fell swoop. Rachel Weiner of WaPo has the #take: “Edwards came out in favor of the agreement to curb Tehran’s nuclear program a day after it was announced. For the two weeks since, she has been criticizing Van Hollen for not doing the same. In recent statements her campaign linked him to Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, both vociferous opponents of the diplomacy. Van Hollen is in a more complicated political position than his political rival. While Edwards has long taken a very liberal position on Mideast politics, Van Hollen is backed by both opponents and supporters of the agreement.” http://goo.gl/YNCC0q

PAYING MICHAUD BACK: 2014 wasn’t the kindest for former Rep. Mike Michaud, who represents the Real Maine that I am not from so don’t ask me about it. First Independent Eliot Cutler refused to leave the governor’s race and Michaud lost to Gov. Paul LePage, then Democrats lost his Northern district in the state to Rep. Bruce Poliquin, who’s making a name for himself as a pragmatic Republican willing to break from leadership. But some good news came for Michaud on Thursday afternoon: The Obama administration hasn’t forgotten him and intends to nominate him as the assistant secretary for Veterans’ Employment and Training at the Labor Department. Bangor Daily News: http://goo.gl/lGHlE5

IGNORING CONGRESS: A group of Democrats sent letters to sports stores and industry groups this week urging them to complete all background checks before selling guns to buyers rather than proceed with a transaction merely after 72 hours have passed. Have they heard back? “No,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut told me.

TRANSITIONS: Russ Thomasson, the always optimistic chief of staff for Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, is headed to Cassidy & Associates at the end of next week. Russ has been with Cornyn since 2003 and is a key part of the messaging operation: When I or Manu try to ask Cornyn a troublemaking question, the senator will often ask Russ to block us out.

It’s actually Friday so chill. And welcome to the Huddle, your play-by-play guide to everything Capitol Hill, where the weather is not yet disgusting. Please send tips to beverett@politico.com and follow along on Twitter @burgessev.

TODAY IN CONGRESS – The House is on recess and the Senate will be back on Monday for a failed cloture vote on defunding Planned Parenthood. The Senate will have a pro forma session today at 10 a.m. and the House will have one at 1 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL – You should try Sushi Capitol if you need a good lunch spot.

THURSDAY’S MOST CLICKED: The Medium Post from Sen. Chris Coons showing him and a filthy Jeff Flake with an elephant in Africa.

HOW THE FALL IS SHAPING UP: The punt is complete. The Senate approved the House’s three-month transportation extension on Thursday in addition to its own long-term bill, with the hope and prayer that the two chambers can work something out. Nominally, the deadline is October, but the patch actually includes five months of funding, so an additional two-month policy extension will be painless. So, in reality the Senate swallowed the five-month patch and Congress is now betting on a year-end transpo deal.

And what about our recess? The Senate’s got the Planned Parenthood vote teed up for Monday, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did NOT move to set up a vote on cybersecurity for next week. Procedurally, that vote can’t take place Monday and seems likely to happen on Wednesday. I predict the predictable impasse over an amendment agreement forcing the matter into September.

LIGHT IT UP: Sen. Chuck Grassley isn’t new to pushing the limit of senatorial rhetoric, and he scouted out new frontiers on the Senate floor on Thursday when he challenged Sen. Chuck Schumer to “put that in your pipe and smoke it.” The dispute is over judges, and Schumer was attempting to get an agreement to vote on some (the Senate GOP has only confirmed five judges this year). Grassley then launched into an explanation of how the Democrats approved judges they shouldn’t have last year and that no, the GOP is doing just fine. Schumer was game in the Chuck-vs.-Chuck showdown, yielding the floor after the row “without smoke, Mr. President.” Sen. Mike Rounds, who was the presiding officer during the exchange, could not stop laughing when he come off the floor. I’ve re-watched this several times already, and you can too: http://goo.gl/xJbvsf

FLORIDA SENATE FIELD CLEARER: Count this as good news for Republicans that are trying to avoid an even more divisive and ugly primary in the Sunshine State. Rep. Jeff Miller won’t run for the seat being vacated by Sen. Marco Rubio and says he will concentrate on VA reform. TampaBay.com: http://goo.gl/w2HJ00

Flashback, July 24: “Rep. Jeff Miller says he is assembling a team would need for a U.S. Senate race but that he won’t make a final decision until after August.” http://goo.gl/VE6sxx

RUBIO DEEP-DIVE: Robert Samuels went through 63 hours of West Miami city commission meetings and 200 pages of meeting minutes so you don’t have to. The best part is a battle with Mayor Rebeca Sosa over how much it should cost to take out the trash. “Rubio clashed with Sosa over a plan to double garbage fees from $125 to $250. Rubio supported the increase, passionately. He argued that the city, which was emerging from a steep deficit, needed to stop losing money on garbage collection. The higher fee would be ‘painful, but we know it works,’ he said. ‘It’s like a vaccine. . . . I could not rest if I have not done what I was elected to do, which was to tell you the truth, even though it’s not popular.’” Garbage fees will set you free, y’all. http://goo.gl/1Awfwk

CLIMBING WITH KIRK: National Journal’s Alex Roarty has a good look at what it’s like to be Sen. Mark Kirk as he continues walking the long road to stroke recovery and, potentially, to reelection. “Politicians don't get a free pass to only tell their version of events. And so, if Kirk's campaign wants to argue that his stroke has changed him for the better, it also seems fair to ask whether it has changed him for the worse. Has it affected his mental state, or his judgment, or his ability to do his job?” http://goo.gl/0D4m9M

THURSDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Andrew Smith was the first to answer that Barack "Can You Smell What Barack Is Cooking?” Obama was the last candidate to appear on the WWE's Monday Night Raw.

TODAY’S TRIVIA – Andrew has today’s question: In honor of August recess, What was the name of the law that authorized August recess and what President signed it into law? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day’s Huddle. Email me at beverett@politico.com

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says “Sign Up.” http://www.politico.com/huddle/